Thank you to all the brave men and women who have served their country in the military and continue to do so today. Thank you also to those who have passed on, whether it be on the battlefield or in their own kitchens.

Mother’s Day is a fake holiday. So is Father’s Day. And Valentine’s Day. And Sweetest’s Day. And Adminitrative Professional’s Day.

Now, Memorial Day, that is a real holiday. Everyone comes together at parades or cemeteries or barbeques. We spend a day enjoying the freedoms (and a day off work) that centuries of soldiers’ have fought & possibly lost their lives for. My dad drove an ambulance in Germany in World War II. He was there when they liberated one of the concentration camps. He died before I was born. But many years after the war, of a heart attack. When I was young, my mom & I would often go to the cemetery. We would put down flowers made of fabric & plastic at his grave, or check on the ones we had put previously. I think that is why Memorial Day is my favorite holiday. There are not many holidays where part of a proper celebration (Note the word PROPER–>for you slackers who sleep in & don’t give a few seconds of thanks to our veterans!) includes going to the cemetery. So, it was sort of the one holiday of the year where my whole family was together. Plus, there are no underlying religious connotations like Christmas & Easter have (unless you count “God Bless the USA”), since I do not actually believe in God. Everyone who lives in the United States of America can participate in the day’s true meaning.

As part of my new traditions, I try to work in a pancake breakfast to support local firefighters & purchase chicken BBQ for lunch from the local American Legion. But at the heart I know what the holiday is really for. Looking at Old Glory seems a little more meaningful on Memorial Day.

Here is the moral of the story: You are in contact with your mother, father, valentine, sweetheart, and secretary almost every day. You should be appreciating them (and telling them and showing them) daily. It is easy for us to go from day to day in our lives & forget about all the sacrifices made by people we have never even met & never will (including, sometimes, one’s own father). That is why we NEED Memorial Day, to stop & give thanks. And maybe buy paper plates & napkins for the BBQ with stars & stripes on them. As long as they aren’t made in China.